Sophie Ellis Bextor partners with East Yorkshire distillery to launch ‘Rosé On The Dancefloor’ wine

A lifelong love of hobby brewing, inspired by the film The Great Escape, has seen Jago Packer make a high-profile collaboration with one of the biggest stars on the pop scene.

Wicstun Distillery, based in Market Weighton, has been appointed the exclusive UK distributor for Sophie Ellis Bextor’s new limited edition rosé wine, “Rosé On The Dancefloor”. Wicstun Distillery, run by Jago and his wife, Lisa, was approached by Sophie, who is fronting the Christmas 2024 TV advert for online department store Freemans and headlining a UK arena tour.

The distillery was known to Sophie following the launch of a special toffee vodka for her husband Richard Jones’ band, The Feeling. Wicstun was asked if it could bring the wine to market in time for Christmas, so that her fans would be able to purchase it in time for the festive season.

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The star has been working with the Italian winery, Claudio Quarta, to produce her new wine, Rosé On The Dancefloor, inspired by her huge hit, Murder On The Dancefloor. The premium wine, made from 100 per cent Primitivo grapes from an organic farm in Italy, stands out for its bright, pale pink colour with coral hints, and its great aroma of cherries, pomegranate, wild strawberries, raspberry, and pink pepper.

Sophie said: “Making music and travelling the world is my life and sharing a really delicious wine with those you love is pure joy. Puglia makes me feel this way and it’s been a pleasure to help create this delicious rosé.

“I hope you love this wonderful wine - drink while dancing! Cheers! Sophie xx”

Jago, director of Wicstun, said: “We are so pleased to have been asked to work on this project by Sophie, it shows a great deal of faith in our small business. It’s a massive coup for us.”

Jago said Sophie had looked into the wine’s route to market, approaching a couple of other brands, but they “didn’t really fit”. “What she wanted was a premium quality rosé wine her fans could buy.”

It was through Jago and Lisa’s daughter, Emily, that the first links with Sophie were forged. Jago said Emily had been an events and weddings planner based in London until the Covid pandemic hit.

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“She came home to East Yorkshire and got a job in agriculture, working for a potato merchant. Then one of her grooms asked her if wanted to sell some merchandise for a singer going on tour and she thought, ‘two weeks off potatoes, that will be good’, and it turned out it was Sophie Ellis Bextor.

“She was asked to stay on and she was promoted to assistant tour manager. Sophie took her under her wing.”

The Packer family ended up being introduced to members of The Feeling, including Sophie’s husband Richard who “took a real liking” to Wicstun’s toffee vodka. “When they were younger they loved skiing and used to gig in pubs in France to get the money to pay for their ski passes the following day, and what they were drinking in the pubs was toffee vodka,” said Jago.

It led to Wicstun producing a special “12 Shots & Home” toffee vodka for the band – a nod to their first album “12 Stops & Home” – which was launched at the 2024 Cottingham Folk Festival earlier this year, where The Feeling headlined. At the time, lead singer and guitarist Dan Gillespie Sells said: “Just a whiff of toffee vodka and I’m transported back to the band’s spiritual home in the mountains. This delicious stuff has been the fuel for many a wild gig.”

Bassist Richard Jones said: “It’s exciting to have our own vodka which brings back so many wonderful memories of France.” The Feeling’s set in Cottingham finished with the band opening their first bottle live on stage and taking a taste.

The small-batch distillery, whose flavours of gin, vodka and rum are inspired by the gently rolling Wolds countryside, has previously collaborated with Holiday Sidewinder, an Australian Indie Pop singer-songwriter based in Europe on a special edition Caribbean dark rum, and also produces special spirits for Dove House Hospice and St Catherine’s Hospice. Founded in 2022, the distillery expanded in March this year in response to demand for its products.

The distillery is now pleased to be extending its reach into wine territory, thanks to Sophie. Jago said: “We hope that this will introduce us to a new customer base across the UK and help with our growth. It’s a bit surreal.

“To think that all of this started out as a hobby and now we’ve ended up in the company of Nile Rodgers and members of Chic, The Feeling – they’ve said we’re more like family – and Sophie Ellis Bextor. We’re this little family business in Market Weighton, that me and my wife run, and our son Alex gets involved when he can.

“Also, two great friends of ours help us out. Barbara and Mike Pace have been there right from the beginning, they’ll help us with anything, even the plumbing.

“Ten months ago we were working in a shed, which was the UK’ smallest bonded distillery. To think this was just a hobby that got out of control; it’s all a bit mad.”